Readers' comments

it feels that the author is kind of disappointed with the fall of Saakashvili. He/she often mentions that Mr Ivanishvili has to do this and that...yet the author forgets the major thing: Georgians said a BIG NO! to Saakashvili and his, so called "technocrats". Since 2007, when Saakashvili has raided a private TV IMEDI and beat hundreds of protesters in the streets of Tbilisi, his government did almost nothing positive to Georgia. Saakashvili rigged 2008 Parliament elections, caused a devastating war with Russia in August 2008, created the system of fear - phone surveillance and Nazi-like treatment of prisoners, directed the "bloody Tuesday" of May 26th, 2011, helped to build-up the monopolies in fuel, medicines and media, caused the emigration of hundreds of thousands of Georgians, done nothing to fight unemployment and many other sins that YOU had never heard of...Let Saakashvili alone, he eroded the myth of liberalism in my country, he is a shame of Georgians!

First of all, please correct the mistake. Georgia is no longer named as Republic of Georgia. The official title of the state is Georgia. Secondly, my impression is that the article is a poorly hidden attempt to stigmatize Bidzina Ivanishvili in the eyes of the West and portray him as a backward-looking politician. In this article there are many striking similarities to what Saakashvili and his team are stating on Ivanishvili and his Georgian Dream. In my opinion, most of the Georgians who will read this article will consider it biased and one-sided.

It is not clear yet that Bidzina will become PM. It is also worth noting that one of the first statements that Ivanishvili made when announcing his entry into politics was that he would request or convince Saakashvili to resign. Also, while it is great that Saakashvili has gracefully announced his defeat, he and the UNM spent a lot of the campaign making accusations that Ivanishvili was a Russian stooge. The UNM has lead the way in developing a with us or against us and your own country mentality for the preponderance of his leadership. I don't count that as incredibly gracious or a great lead to follow.

All right, Mr. Krišjānis, please let me help Cyberian1. How would you explain the fact that the Saskaņas Centrs party, who won 35% of popular votes in Latvia (more, than ANY OTHER PARTY that took part in the elections), was kept OUT OF the ruling coalition by Latvian nationalists? Is that a good example of European-style democracy? Now please do NOT call me a paid agent of the Kremlin, just stick to the facts, OK? Latvia and other Baltic states are continuousy praised by Western observers as pinnacles of "democracy", why is that? If you look closer, they are run by a small clique of Western agents of influence who, by the way, ARE PAID DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY by their handlers. And paid very, very well. When people of Latvia get entirely sick of this situation, they will kick out the Western puppets. That's what happened in Georgia, and that's what WILL happen in Latvia.

Dear Boulvardier, you got democracy wrong, it's not a race, especially not in multi-party parliament. First let's get several facts straight - SC didn't get 35% of popular votes, they got 17%. Second, in normal democracy fact that you have won means nothing - if you can't work with other parties (and SC later showed with flying colors that they simply can't and there's nothing to talk about with them), then other parties aren't obliged to take you into account. It is matter of math - very simple as that. That's how democracy works. You can't rule on anti-Latvian platform and then say, OK, let's be friends. It doesn't work that way. You made your bed, you sleep in it.

So if you want SC to win, maybe stop 1) receiving money and support from Kremlin? (Which is messing with our internal affairs, I know Kremlin doesn't like that in their own territory) 2) respect sovereign rights of Latvia and Latvians (SC would never get away with their program in US or France, for example), like recognition of occupation, and continuity of old Republic of Latvia (and please, don't spread BS about that it will make all Russians suddenly not a subjects of this country - that's tiny national party line of pure fantasy) 3) respecting Latvian language for a change? Interesting, both new US ambassadors to Latvia (3 months I think) and Russia (less than a year) studies and already speaks and tweets Latvian and Russian in each respective countries. Russia Ambassador in Latvia - he recently printed a book about Rusofobia of Latvians, he never said that hey, Russians, let's respect Latvians rights in their homeland. He never said "Thank you" in Latvian. Really nice way to make friends, isn't it? Ahh, he knows that some of our money fatties like cheap money from East. But that crowd is shrinking too, especially when they see attachments to that money.

See, problem is here that no one have to get money from Western to block Putin and Kremlin efforts here. They are lame, heavy handed, void of any logic and self-respect. Putin hates soft power. He doesn't understand soft power. And SC is simply a mirror of Kremlin in Latvia. That's why they (as a party) never will get into government.

By the way, there are multiple Russians both in coalition parties and in top posts, and they are shining examples of honest, smart, down to earth people. I have multiple colleagues and friends who are Russians. We have different views on several subjects, but we still talk, shake and smile to each other. So stop talk this BS about that no one respects you. Earn that.

Well, first of all, Mr. K., please double check your own facts. SC holds 31 seats in the Saeima now (out of 100), I have just re-visited their web-site. They have technically won the election in Latvia, no matter what you say. And please do me a favor: stop PREACHING about democracy, because all you are saying is just YOUR OWN interpretation of it. Now you call SC platform "anti-Latvian"?! This is just a blatant lie. Frankly, I stopped reading your bullshit right after the second paragraph. You may try to get away with this elsewhere, but not in Latvia. He advises me to "earn his respect" - what a bloody smart alec! Who are you anyway to talk to me like this?! Palasiet komentārus kaut latviešu ģeļfjatņikā lai saprast ko Latvijas iedzīvotāji īstenībā domā par valdošo kolaīciju, you conceited slob.

"Well, first of all, Mr. K., please double check your own facts. SC holds 31 seats in the Saeima now (out of 100), I have just re-visited their web-site"

Seats are calculated differently. So they got 31 seats. To make government, they need 51, if no one wants to work with them.

"They have technically won the election in Latvia, no matter what you say."

And as I said it doesn't matter. Coalition does matter.

"And please do me a favor: stop PREACHING about democracy, because all you are saying is just YOUR OWN interpretation of it"

No, it's not my own interpretation. Democracy is "rule of majority". Majority of citizens votes for Latvian parties, because, well, they're Latvians. End of the story :)

"Now you call SC platform "anti-Latvian"?! This is just a blatant lie."

Support for second official language, support for making all "non-citizens" or not yet naturalised Russians citizens automatically, engaging in secret correspondence with Kremlin televisions about content...and I'm not even getting into details.

"Frankly, I stopped reading your bullshit right after the second paragraph."

Sadly, I thought you won't read it at all. After all, I'm preaching to the wall here - as usual.

"You may try to get away with this elsewhere, but not in Latvia."

We are getting away, because it's only way out.

"He advises me to "earn his respect""

No, I advise you to earn Latvians respect, if you want to get SC into coalition at least.

I will respond in English so others would understand - sorry, but I have to burst your bubble again. Writing comments in internet doesn't mean nothing. It doesn't change anything. I know that SC employs people to write comments about bad government :) I also know, that there are group of people who are essentially genuinely angry at everything - be it government, IMF, EU, even Russia - but those hardly matter.

There are harsh objective critics of government, but they don't write comments on web sites.

And essentially, no one reads those cries, because people simply don't care. People vote either with feet, votes, money, support or ignorance, they see what works and what not, and while right wing in Latvia have lot of shortcomings, SC don't have *anything* to offer to people of Latvia. And no amount of deficit of Riga will prove that. You know it.

These little countries on the Western payroll at the Russian (and European) peripheryare full of it whenever the politics comes "Eastern". It's like the white noise, monotonous, mumbling and would-be democratic.

OK, so you don't like bashing ? how about joining in celebrating Putin's 60th birthday this Sunday ? Here are your options:
a) join the Putin-Jugend wing of the ruling United Russia on Sunday in their poetic performance "WE ARE RUSSIA, RUSSIA OF PUTIN".
b) help to erect multicolor banners celebrating Putin on a bridge in Rostov;
c) join a program on Putin on NTV, a channel run by the Kremlin's GAZPROM;
d) you can also join the opposition-sponsored rally under a slogan "Send the Grandad Vlad into Retirement" !
Personally, I like the last option.

The author says about Mr. Ivanishvili Quote "He should also show that he can improve ties with Russia without falling victim to its mischief-making and bullying. Poland has done that. Georgia could, too."
Unquote: Poland doesn't have a common border with Russia nor do the Russians occupy 20 percent of the Polish territory; it will be therefore much more challenging for Georgia to sustain Russia's bullying.

Georgia really matters in Europe. Partly because 5m people is non-trivial; partly because this really is extraordinary progress towards established liberal democracy; partly because Georgia's experience is potentially influential throughout the rest of the Caucus, Belarus, Ukraine and former Soviet Republics (and, indeed, in Russia itself).